GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape — Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe is set to deliver her highly anticipated State of the Metro Address in Despatch this evening amid mounting criticism over service delivery, infrastructure decay, and the provision of basic municipal services. With the local government elections scheduled for November 4—just 55 days away—Lobishe is expected to outline her administration’s strategic plans to stabilize the metro and drive inclusive economic growth.
However, the upcoming address has been overshadowed by widespread backlash from political parties and civil society organizations. Demonstrations and pickets have emerged in areas such as KwaZakhele, with resident activists identifying themselves as part of a grassroots “service delivery resistance.” Critics argue that the timing of the address, coupled with an accompanying million-rand gala dinner, is deeply out of touch with the daily realities of residents.
Bakol Notata, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Nelson Mandela Bay campaign manager, strongly condemned the municipal expenditure on the banquet. “We can’t have politicians patting each other on the back with almost a million rand in a banquet party when people are living in severe poverty in the city,” Notata stated. He highlighted that residents in KwaZakhele are dealing with raw sewage, non-functional street lights, and pervasive potholes, while the area remains one of the city’s highest murder capitals.
Notata further emphasized that weekly water and electricity outages, coupled with high unemployment, are actively deterring business investment and job creation. “These are real people’s lived experiences on a day-to-day basis,” he noted, confirming that the DA caucus has officially boycotted the gala dinner to protest the misallocation of funds away from essential service delivery.
The DA is not alone in its stance. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), along with other smaller coalition parties in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, have also announced their boycott of both the gala dinner and the State of the Metro Address. Despite holding key municipal portfolios such as electricity, budget, and treasury, the EFF stated that the administration’s focus must be urgently redirected toward the serious, pressing issues affecting the daily lives of the metro’s residents, rather than ceremonial events.
As the competitive season of local government elections intensifies, the pressure remains on Mayor Babalwa Lobishe to present credible, actionable solutions that address the metro’s systemic challenges. Residents and opposition parties alike are demanding a clear, substantive roadmap for fixing basic services, ensuring that the upcoming address focuses on tangible progress rather than political posturing ahead of the November 4 polls.
